1956 Chevrolet Corvette for sale in Bakersfield, California

1956 CORVETTE HISTORY, BY OWNERRestorers dream. Less than 51,000 original miles. Both tops, two four barrel carburetors. Car has been stored in a wooden box for 46 years.I purchased the car in December 1956 when it was 4-5 months old with less than 5000 miles. Operated the car until the end of 1968. Decided to repair minor damage (scratches and small cracks due to minor impacts, etc) and restore the paint and interior to the original configuration. Original color was Cascade Green. Work barely started when the day job got in the way, so to protect the car from accidental damage the car was encased in a

inch thick plywood box. Repairs were planned for the following year when the day job lightened up but that day never came. Car was removed from the wooden box and storage in June of 2014. I no longer have the desire to restore it myself.I was 19 when I bought the car, one of the first Corvettes in my home town of Joplin, MO. Being young and owning a Corvette made a big hit with the girls. Easy to get the girls to go for a ride. For our Junior College homecoming I was in charge of getting convertibles for the parade. We convinced the famous baseball player Mickey Mantle to participate and bring some of his baseball buddies to join in. Mantle owned the local Holiday Inn and in off season would drink beer with us. I drove my Corvette in the parade with one of his baseball buddies in the passenger seat.Customizing was the big thing in the 1950s and 1960s, to provide individuality. As an artist, sculpture and engineer, I ventured into the new field of fiberglass and performed some custom work on my car in 1, which included removal of side trim, removal of fake air scoops on top of front fenders, removal of door handles, removal of hood, truck and fender emblems, radio antenna (now inside the trunk) and relocation of front turn signals inside of the grill. I have new door handles, hood, trunk and side cove emblems and most of the stainless steel side cove trim still in original factory packages for installation. Doing custom work on my Corvette made me quite proficient and the only local working on fiberglass. I also gained a reputation in pin striping and flame jobs. I repaired, rebuilt and customized Corvettes for individuals and Chevrolet dealers.I met my first wife while driving the Corvette, which really impressed her and led to a long romance. I seldom put the top on, because spring, summer and early fall in the Midwest were perfect for convertibles. I helped start Joplins first sports car club as their VP. With the Corvette packed with all my worldly possessions, I moved to Mission Beach in San Diego in 1964 and helped start San Diegos first sports car club at the beach, again as VP.The Corvette is almost completely original down to the plastic windshield washing reservoir, with the exception of the transmission, which was Powerglide and was replaced with a Corvette 4 speed and the wheels and hub caps. The wire wheels are rare original 1 Buick Skylark.

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